Embossing machine



A ril 26, 1938. c. CHISHOLM 2,115,455

EMBOSS lNG MACHINE Filed Nov. 25, 1934 8 Sheets-Sheet l Fig.1

3mm fw W m VGWfiM gm April 26, 1938. c. CHISHOLM EMBOSS lNG MACHINE Filed Nov. 23, 1954 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 18 78W, $9M l /zuv April 26, 1938. c. CHISHOLM EMBOSSING MACHINE Filed Nov. 23, 1934 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 April 26, 1938. c. CHISHOLM EMBOSSING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25, 1934 8 Sheets-Sheet S April 26, 1938. c. CHISHOLM v EMBOSSING MACHINE Fi led Nov. 23, 1934 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 April 26, 1938. c, CHISHQLM 2,115,455

EMBOSSING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25. 1934 a Sheets- Sheet 7 I'm-mi April 26, 1938. c. CHlSHOLM 2,115,455

EMBOSSING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25, 1934 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Wm @MMU, 749w,

Patented Apr. 26, 1938 EMBOSSIN G MACHINE Clifton Chisholm, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, at corporation of Delaware Application November 23, 1934, Serial No. 754,480

Claims.

present invention relates to an improvement or an attachment for embossing machines, such as shown in my prior Patents 1,557,754 and 1,728,390,

issued October th, 1925 and September 17th, 10 1929, respectively. The mechanism of the present invention is especially adaptable for the embossing of metal plates, as distinguished from the embossing of metal strips, as disclosed in my prior patents. The machine includes the provision of a plate holding and feeding mechanism so arranged that it may be readily substituted for the strip holding and feeding mechanism shown in the machines illustrated in my prior patents, without alteration of the embossing mechanisms, 20 per se, therein disclosed and claimed.

One of the objects of the present invention is the provision of a mechanism for feeding sheet metal plates to a carriage mounted in suitable guides for positioning the plate in the path of a pair of coacting embossing dies and for moving the carriage step by step in one direction for the embossing of successive characters, as well as step by step in another direction to provide for the embossing of characters to form a plurality of parallel lines.

Another object of the invention is to provide the embossing machine with a movable plate holder adapted to position the metal plates between the embossing dies, and to provide a mechof position on the plate holder.

Other objects of the invention will become hereinafter more fully apparent from the following description, which refers to a preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrated by the accompanying drawings. ,The essential characteristics of the invention will be set. forth in the claims. 7

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a plan view of my proposed embossing mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation looking at the left-hand side of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical section, the plane of the section being indicated by the off-set lines anism for feeding individual plates into and out 33 on Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sec-,

the plane of the section being indicated by the offset line 15-45 on Figs. 1 and 3, respectively; Fig.

7 is a perspective view of an embossing die such as is used in the machine illustrated; Figs. 8 and 9 are detailed sections of the operating mechanism of the embossing machine, the planes of the sections being indicated by the lines 8-8 and 9-9, respectively, on Fig. 1; Fig. 10 is a sectional detail, the plane of the section being indicated by the line Ill-I0 on Fig. 4; Fig. 11 is a sectional detail as indicated by the line ll on Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is a section taken along the'line l2--l2 on Fig. 6; Fig. 13 is a section indicated by the line |3-l3 on Figs. 5 and 12; Fig. 14 is a detail section, the plane of the section being indicated'by the lines -44 on Fig. 3; Fig. 15 is a fragmentary elevation of a detail, as indicated by the lines l5--l5 on Fig. 3; Fig. 16 is a horizontal section, as indicated by the lines |6--l6 on Fig. 6; Fig. 17 is a sectional detail through the feeding mechanism, the plane of the section being indicated by the lines'l'l-ll in Fig. 4, the parts, however, being illustrated in a different position; Fig. 18 is a plan of a plate embossed by the mechanism illustrated in the drawings.

The mechanism which I have illustrated for operating the embossing dies is similar to that shown and described in the patents heretofore mentioned. The frame of the machine primarily comprises the horizontal plate In, mounted on suitable legs I I, together with various standards, brackets and such, secured to-the plate, and hereinafter described. Vertically extending upwardly from the frame are a pair of standards l2 and i3, which are connected as shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6, by'suitable cross-bars l4, l5, l6 and H. The bars I 4 and I5 support stationary housings l8 and I 9 for embossing plungers hereinafter described, while the bars 16 and I1 form a guideway between which the plates, to be embossed, project during the embossing operation.

In the embodiment illustrated, the plates comprise a thin metallic member, such asthe address plates P, illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, 6 and 15. These plates are fed one at'a time to a suitable plateholder, generally indicated at 200, as will be here inafter'more fully described. The plateholder 200 retains the plate P between pairs of oppositely facing dies 25 and 26, carried by 'a reciprocable die head 20. The die head comprises a block bifurcated above and below,that is to say, the upper surface is provided with a groove-2l enabling the block to embrace opposite sides of the bars l6 and I l', as well as the plateholder 200, and in the underside of the die head there is a groove 22, whereby the die block may straddle a supporting bar 30, supported by the side frame members I2 and I3. The die block carries in the groove 22 a pair of rollers 23, bearing against; the upper and underside of a cross bar 38. Suitable rollers 24, carried by the die block, bear against the side of the cross bar I6 and retain the die block in alignment therewith.

The upwardly extending legs 21 and 28 of the die block carry a set of dies. The leg 21 carries the male dies 26 and the leg 28 carries the corresponding female dies 25. As shown in Figs. 3 and 6, each of the upstanding legs 21 and 28 is provided with transversely extending recesses 29, which are covered with top plates 3I, secured to the block by suitable screws 32, and at their inner and outer faces are covered with longitudinal slot cover plates 34.

The slotted plates 34 form slideways for the dies. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, each of the plates 34' has vertical rows of longitudinally extending slots. The bottom of each lowermost slot is slightly above the bottom of the recess, while the uppermost slot is open at the top, except as closed by the cover plate 3|, heretofore described. Each of the slots in the plates 34 is the same height as a die and of sufficient length to carry several dies in contact with each other. The slots are vertically separated from each other by bars 36, providing chambers 31 in the block between the bottom of the recess and the lowermost row of dies, as well as between each row of dies and the adjacent row.

Th chambers 31 carry springs 40 which preferabi comprise a fiat plate of metal slotted transversely to provide a series of tines which are bent back substantially parallel with the body of the spring plate and then upwardly and downwardly forming an inverted V-shaped portion 4| arranged to engage a notch 42 in the lower surface of the die superimposed above such tine. This latch acts to retain the die in its normal position regardless of vibratory or jarring'motion imparted to the die block during the operation of the machine, as well as to position the dies axially upon their return from the embossing position.

The latch normally retains the dies with their inner faces flush with the walls of the groove 2|, as shown by the lower dies in Fig. 6. At the proper time plungers I28 carried in the housings I8 and I9 force a pair of dies, which are centrally positioned, towards each other to emboss the interposed metal plate. The lower portion of the bar I6 and the upper portion of the bar II is cut away in its central region to allow the dies to be plunged toward each other.

The supporting bar 38 for the die head is bodily shiftable vertically to as-many different positions as there are vertical rows of dies in the block 20, and mechanism to thus shift the bar enables the selection ofupper, lower or intermediate die members as desired.

The shift mechanism for the die head is best illustrated in Fig. 9. On the inner face of the vertical frame standards I2 and I3 are a pair of guiding ribs 5|. Between the ribs of each standard i a slide block 54. The ends of the bar 38 whic supports the die head are mounted in the slide blocks. Projecting inwardly from the slide blocks are pins 55, which are embraced by forked ends of levers 56 pivoted as at 51. to upwardly extending frame brackets 58 and connected together by a cross-bar 53. The forward extension '59 of one of the ,levers 55 provides for the manual operation of the lever, to raise the die head 20, gravity normally holding the die head in its lowermost position with the face of the uppermost dies opposite the embossing region of the plate P.

I have shown a Y-shaped member 60 pivoted to the forward portion of the lever 59. A suitable stepped abutment block GI is secured to the bed plate I0 beneath this Y-lever. If the operator presses down on a finger button 52 on the rear leg of the Y-lever, the lower end of such lever swings forwardly and strikes the highest available stop on the abutment block, with the result that the die head is lifted only sufliciently to bring the intermediate die character into line with the printing region of the plate P and the plungers I20. Upon the other hand, if the operator presses down on a forward finger button 53, the Y-lever is rocked rearwardly and the lever 59 is thus moved downwardly until the Y-lever' meets a second stop on the abutment block, thus bringing the lowermost row of dies opposite the printing region. A suitable latch having a pair of rearwardly facing ratchet teeth which coact with the forward edge of the lever 59, serves to retain such lever in either of its depressed positions. I

It is convenient to arrange the die characters in three rows, correspondinr to upper case, lower case and numerals and punctuation points. -Before the die head is shifted, it is convenient to determine which of the rows of the .characters is to be used for the character to be embossed, and then the corresponding shift key or finger button is depressed or the die head is left in its normal position as required.

Any suitable means may be employed for shifting the die head horizontally, such as, for instance, a keyboard and the mechanism controlled thereby as shown in my prior patent, 1,557,754, or

the shift lever mechanism, as shown in my prior Patent 1,728,380. I have here, however, shown the latter arrangement. The shift lever is, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 8, a compound device comprising, first, a lever arm I0 mounted on a vertical stationarypivot pin II rising from the frame; second, a rearward extension of this lever in the form of a plate I2, rigidly secured to the upper end of hub of the arm and loosely extending around the corresponding embossing lever II 5 and at itsrear end connected with the die head; third, a forwardly extending arm I5 pivoted to the arm III on a horizontal pivot I8; and fourth,

a spring 88, anchored to the arms I8 and I5 and lifting the latter against an adjustable abutment screw 82 carried by the arm I0.

The compound lever just described is swung manually horizontally about the vertical pivot I I. The rear end of the extension 12 is bifurcated and slidably embraces a fiat sided block 85, rotatably mounted on a pin 86 depending from the die block. The forward end of the arm I5 of the compound lever I0 carries a knob 68. Ac-

cordingly, when this knob is grasped by the op- .erator and the lever is swung in one direction or another, the die head moves along the bar 38 to bring the desired pair of dies between the plungers I20.

The arm I5 preferably carries a pointer 89 (Figs. 1 and 8) which stands adjacent to the arcuate edge of an indicating plate 98 extending horizontally above the lever. The forward edge of this plate is marked with various characters corresponding to the dies. I have illustrated in Fig. 1 the row of alphabetical characters which serve as an indication for both upper and lower tionary bracket I04.

rows ofdies. Behind'each row is a row'of punc-- tuation marks, numerals and special characters corresponding to the third row of die heads.

When the die head has been brought into the desired position by the lateral movement of the knob 89, herein described, the next operation is a downward movement of the knob which looks the lever and die head in position, and initiates the embossing operation. To effect the locking, I provide across the machine, beneath the lever I5, a stationary comb 9I (Figs. 1 and 8). This stationary comb has upwardly facing notches with beveled entrances. To effect the looking I provide on the underside of the lever I- a beveled edged blade 92, to coact with these notches. The notches in the comb have their walls arranged -ra'diallywith reference to the pivot pin II, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the bevels of the blade and the walls of the notches accurately position the die head and hold it locked when the knob is depressed. The dies are preferably equally spaced on the die head. That is, the die blocks are of equal width and stand one against the other in the die head, as shown in Fig. 3. As the comb 9| is parallel with the path of movement of the die head, it follows a that the notches will be' equally spaced to cause each notch to correspond to a die in the die block, though as the pivot pin II is further from the comb than from the die, the unit of spacing of the comb will be greater than that of the die.

Extending transversely of the machine, beneath an adjusting screw I9'-o n the arm 15, as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, is a universal bar 93 secured to the forward end of a pair of arms 94 and 95 pivoted in axial alignment to a bracket 96. The arm 94 extends rearwardly of its pivot and operates to release a single rotation clutch to cause an operation of the embossing mechanism.

The single rotation clutch may be of any approved form. It is illustrated in Fig. 1, as embodied in a main belt pulley 91. The clutch has a shoulder 98 normally engaging a slidable abutment 99, which'normally holds the clutch open.

, When this abutment is drawn forwardly to clear the shoulder 99 the clutch goes into action and makes a single rotation. At the conclusion of the rotation the abutment 99 has returned to position, the shoulder 98 strikes the abutment and terminates 'the rotation. This is the usual method of operation of single rotation clutches, and it is not deemed necessary to explain it in detail as any single rotation clutch may be employed, for instance, the clutch shown in my prior Patent tation. This abutment is carried by a pair of rods I00 and IN, which are connected by the cross bar I02, and are slidably mounted in a stationary bracket I04 secured to the bed plate. The rod I00 extends forwardly from the cross bar I02,

L as shown in Figs. 2 and 6, and at its forward end is guided in a bracket I05, Fig. 6. Secured to the rodI00 is a collar I06 forming an anchorage for the forward end of a tension spring I01. The rear end of this spring is connected to the sta- The spring thus tends to return the abutment 99 into the path of the clutch shoulder 98.

Pivotally connected to the lever 94 (Figs. 2 and 6) is a dog IIO. This doghas a shoulder III normally beneath horizontal arm of a. bell crank H2 pivoted to a stationary bracket of the machine. The lower end of this bell crank is bifurcated and engages a pin II3 projecting from the rod I00. A spring II4 anchored to the dog and some other suitable point retains the dog shoulder normally in the position shown in Fig. 6. Pivotally suspending from the rear end of the lever. 94 is a block I", normally lying between the collar I06 on the rod I00anda stationary rib II8 of the frame. This block in this position forms a lock preventing the release of the clutch.

When the arm of the compound lever is depressed, the concomitant elevationof the rear end of the lever 94 withdraws the lock II! and, by reason of the dog I I0, rocks the bell crank I I2 drawing the rod I00 forwardly, thereby releasing the single rotation clutch which causes the embossing operation, at present to befldescribed. The continued upward movement of the rear end of the arm 94 causes the inclined surface I09 of the dog I I0 toengage a stationary pin II9 (Fig. 6) which cams the dog 0' out of engagement with the bell crank II2, permitting the rod I00 thereby locks the clutch. I

Immediately after the clutch has been released,

as above described, the clutch operates to impart a single rotation to a cam shaft 44 (Fig. 2). On this cam shaft are a pair of grooved earns 45 and 46, which coact with the lower end of a pair of embossing levers H5 and H6 secured to shafts 41 and 48 mounted in suitable frame brackets. Each embossing lever carries near its upper end an adjustable abutment pin I26 (Figs. 2 and 6) which pins are designed to coact with corresponding plungers I20, heretofore referred to as slidably mounted in the housings I8 and I9. The plungers I are normally retained in contact with their respective pins I26 by springs I 22, one end of each of which is secured to its respective embossing arm H5 or H6 and the other ends to pins I28 carried by the respective plungers I 20.

When the die head is in the embossing position, the selected dies are directly behindthe inner ends of the two plungers and accordingly the operation of the cams 45 and 46 rock inwardly the upper ends of the embossing levers to cause the plunger to shove the dies and 26 towards each other, thus embossing the plate P.

Before the plungers engage the die block an accurate locking of the die 'block as controlled by the shift key takes place, thus insuring proper horizontal alignment of the characters. The mechanism used to accomplish this is best shown in Figs. 1, 4, 10 and 11. The embossing lever H5 is rigidly secured to the rock shaft 48, which carries a rock arm I2I, Figs. 1 and 3, which at the beginning of the movement of the lever II5 engages a roller I23 on a lever I24, pivotally carried by the standard I2. The rear end of this lever has a bevelled face I25 which is designed to enter any of three notches 52 on the slide 54, according to the vertical position, as given by the shifting lever 59, heretofore described. This accurately locks the die block in the proper elevation and maintains it there until the embossing action is completed. On the return stroke of the embossing arm I I5, a spring I21 returns the lever I24 to its normal position. To prevent the strain on the parts, the lever I24 is pivoted to a plunger I29, mounted in a housing formed in the standard I2, the plunger being normally maintained in the housing by a comparatively stiii compression spring I29a. e

As plungers I20 are struck by their respective embossinglevers and shoved towards their respective dies 25 and 26, which have previously been positioned in alignment with the plungers, they carry with them respective pawls I40, (Fig. 6) which are pivotally mounted on 'pin's I4I carried by the plungers so as to enable the pawls to swing in a vertical plane in longitudinally extending slots in their respective plungers.

When the plungers I20 are in their normal or withdrawn position, the pawls I40 extend beyond the inner face of the plungers towards the die block. The outer end of each pawl I40 is provided with an upwardly extending hook I43 arranged to engage notches I42 in the dies to withdraw them as the plunger withdraws consequent upon the return movement of the embossing arms.

As the plungers are moved toward the 'dies, and when the hooks I43 of their respective pawls I40 reach positions immediately beneath respective notches I42 in the dies which are in alignment with the plungers, the rearmost end of each pawl is carried past an abutment, such as the head of a screw I44, and a compression spring I45, carried by the plunger, forcesthe hook I43 into the notch I42 of the die. Further movement of the plunger causes the nose thereof to.

abut the die and thus shove that die towards the coactirig die to emboss the plate P.

As soon as the plate is embossed, the embossing levers are returned, withdrawing the plungers I20, the pawls I40, and the dies to which the pawls are hooked. When the lever H5 or II6 returns, a spring I22, interposed between the lever and its respective plunger I20, retains the plunger in contact with the abutment pin I26, carried by the embossing lever, thereby withdrawing the plunger and its associated pawl I40. The pawl which is still in-engagement with the die withdraws the latter. However, when the die has been withdrawn to its normal or rest position, a bevelled surface I40 of the pawl engages the abutment I44 and causes the pawl to be cammed, swinging the hook I43 out of engagement with the die.

Immediately before the die reaches its withdrawn position, the notch 42 in the die is engaged by its respective tine of the spring 40, and is cammed into position, thereby relieving the pressure between the pawl and the die at the time of disengagement ofthe hookI43 from the notch I42 in the die.

The embossing mechanism just described is substantially that shown, illustrated and claimed in my prior patents, Nos. 1,557,754 and 1,728,390, heretofore mentioned. However, the die head is that shown in my pending application Serial No. 638,717, filed October 20th, 1932, which carries individual die members, and has been substituted for the die head shown in the patents referred to, and together with my prior patents may be referred to for a more complete description of the die head and embossing mechanisms, per se. The mechanisms disclosed in the patents, as well as the application herein referred to, were primarily designed to emboss a thin metallic ribbon or tape which was fed along the rail I6, heretofore mentioned, by a suitable feeding mechanism which advanced the ribbon one step for each operation of each embossing mechanism. The present invention is concerned primarily with a-plate feeding mechanism arranged to feed and locate individualplates, such as ad,- dress plates or the like, in embossing position between the die head. I

The plate holding and feeding mechanism of the present invention is preferably so designed that it may be bodily substituted as a unit for the ribbon feeding mechanism shown in my prior 1 patents. This may be effected by the removal of the cross bars I6 and II, which are secured to the vertical standards I3 and I4 by means of brackets, and replacing such parts by suitable brackets or standards I50, I5I (Figs. 1, 4 15 and 5) carrying new cross rails I6 and I I, to-

gether with my new plate supporting and feed:

ing mechanism.

During the embossing operation, the plate P is mounted in the plate holder 200, which is 21 supported by a carriage 20I. The carriage is best shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 and, as shown, comprises a plate-like frame member 202, mounted for movement transversely of the machine,

that is, from left to right or right to left of the 21 machine, as shown in Fig. 1. The carriage is supported, above theembossing mechanism heretofore described, by a cross bar 203, the opposite ends of which are secured as at I53 to the brackets I50 and I5I, which are mounted, as

heretofore mentioned, on the standards I2 and I3, respectively, at opposite sides of the machine. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the carriage frame 20I has secured to its rear face a pair of grooved anti-friction rollers 201, which engage the upper surface of the cross bar 203. Suitable guide members 208, secured to the rear of the carriage frame 202, together with rollers 209, also secured to the frame 202 and engaging the lower portion of the cross bar 203, serve to main- 4* tain the rollers 20! in engagement with the cross bar, and to guide the carriagev for movement transversely of the machine.

Immediately upon completion of each stroke of embossing mechanism, the carriage, together 4 with the plate carried thereby, is moved toward the left (Figs. 1 and 4) a distance equivalent to the space required for one embossed character, thereby positioning the plate for the embossing of the next character. 5*

The carriage is drawn to the left (Fig. 4) by a flexible tape 2I0, having one end secured to the carriage, as at 2, and the other end wound about a springbarrel 2I2. The spring barrel is of the usual type and hence not illustrated, in 5 required for the embossing of one character. For 6 this purpose, I prefer to utilize the movement of the lever 'I2I, heretofore described, as being rigidly mounted on the shaft 40, and which operates once during each action of the embossing 1 mechanism. A- link I60, connected to the upper 7 end of the lever I2I, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, operates, through a lever I62, to rock a shaft I63. This shaft, in turn, through a crank I64, 2. link I65, and a lever I66, rocks-a shaft I61 carried in suitable bearings supported by the frame member I50 and a bar 220 carried by the carriage supporting bar 203.

Rigidly secured to the left-hand end of the rock shaft I61 (Figs. 5 and 13) is a lever I10, which, through the medium of a pair of adjusting screws I 1| acts to-rock a bell crank I12 about its pivot I13. The pivot I13 is carried by the bar 220, which is secured to, and spaced apart from, the bar 203 by suitable members 2I I. one arm of the bell crank I12 coacts with an escapement pawl I15, which is pivoted as at I14 to the bar 220. The other arm of the bell crank has integrally formed thereon an escapement detent I16 arranged to coact with the teeth of a ratchet wheel I11. The ratchet I11 is rigidly mounted on one end ofa shaft-like member I18 journalled in and extending between the bars 220 and 203. Carried on the same shaft with the ratchet wheel I11 is a composite gear member I80, which meshes with a rack I8 I, carried by the carriage frame 20I The arrangement, above described, is an escapement mechanism. Consequent upon the inward or embossing movementof the embossing arm II5, the bell crank I12 is rocked in a clockwise direction (Fig. 5), the detent I16 engaging the ratchet wheel I11, while the upper arm I 18 of the bell crank coacts with a pin I69 in the pawl I15, and withdraws the pawl from engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel I11.

During the outward or embossing stroke of the embossing arm I25, a spring I19 interposed between the lever I66 and the frame member I5I, rocks the bell crank I12 in a counter-clockwise direction, permitting a spring I68 to bring the pawl I15 again into engagement with the ratchet and disengaging the detent I16 from the ratchet. As the pawl reengages the ratchet it is moved into position to engage the ratchet tooth previously engaged, hence, upon the disengagement of the detent I16, the spring barrel mechanism 2I2, heretofore described,,advances the carriage until the ratchet is rotated, because of the rack I8I and gears I 80, a distance to bring the next ratchet tooth against the pawl.

The composite gear I80 is arranged so that dies having characters of different width thereon may readily be used, or so that the distance between the letters may be shortened or lengthened to variably space the characters in the lines of embossed characters on the printing plate. To this end the rack I 8| is carried by the arms I05, which are pivotally connected to the carriage as indicated at I86 in Fig. 2. The rack is normally retained in engagement with the teeth of the composite gear member I80 by gravity. As shown in Fig. 6, the composite gear member I80. comprises three different gears, each differing in their total number of teeth from the others. The composite gear member is slidable, axially of the shaft I18, to the end that either one of the'gears may bemoved into contact with the rack I8I,

thereby enabling the spacing of the characters at any one of three predetermined distances. The gear member I80 is provided with an annular recess I90, arranged to be engaged by pins I9I carried by a clutch fork I92 (Figs. 1 and 12). The

clutch fork is pivotally mounted as at I93 to a block I 94, which is secured to the bar 203. A

suitable plunger I96 is pivotally secured to the op At-times it may bedesirable to back space a plate, either to re-emboss a characteror'to posi-' tion the plate for embossing. Back spacing is accomplished by the depression of a finger key 230 by the operator. Such key is mounted on the forward end of a lever 2 3I (Figs. 1 and 2), which,

by moving the carriage towards the left in Figs.

5 and 12 or towards the right in Fig. 1, a distance equivalent to the spacing of one character.

The back spacing is accomplished without affecting the escapement mechanism, which permits the movement of the carriage under the influence of the spring barrel 2I2. As shown, the gear member I80 is loosely mounted on the shaft I18 'and is drivingly connected thereto by a plunger 225 which is maintained in engagement with internally formed ratchet teeth 226 of the gear member by a spring 221. The arrangement is such that the clockwise rotation imparted from the shaft I18, by the escapement mechanism, is imparted to the gear member I00, whereas during the counter-clockwise rotation of the gear member, due to the action of the back spacer pawl 238, the gear member is rotated without affecting the shaft I18 or the escapement-ratchet I11.

When the carriage has advanced to the extreineleft-hand position, or when the carriage has advanced toward the bracket I50 and support I2, as far as is desired, the operator manually returns the carriage to the right-hand position, adjacent the bracket I5I and the support I3. Suitable members 302 and 2I5, hereinafter to be described in detail, are secured to the carriage MI and positioned to be conveniently grasped by the operator. Either of such members may be used by the operator to manually move the carriage toward the right (Fig. 1).

Consequent upon the operator moving the carriage through the lever towards the right-hand end, the rack I8I acts to rotate the gear member in a counter-clockwise direction (Fig. 5). This is accomplished without afiecting the escapement mechanism by the plunger 225 and internal ratchet 226, as heretofore explained in connection with the back spacing mechanism.

At times it is desirable to advance the carriage more rapidly than is possible by. operating the spacing means, which, through the embossing mechanism, would advance the carriage step by step for successive embossing operations. To this end, the member 215 may be manually operated to disengage the plunger 225 from the internal ratchet teeth 226 of the gear member I80, thereby permitting the carriage to, be freely advanced under the tension of the spring barrel 2| 2. I

As shown in the drawings, the member 2I5 comprises a lever-pivoted to the carriage 202 at 2 l6 and providedwith a bar portion 2I1, extending the full length of the carriage at the rear thereof, and which is positioned beneath a bell crank 240, pivoted at 24l to a bracket 242 carried by the stationary bar 220, heretofore mentioned. The. depression of the hook member 2I5 I by the operator causes the bar 2'I1 to rock the bell crank 240 about its pivot against the action of a,spring 243. Thereupon, a pin. 244 in the ment.

lower arm of the bell crank 240 rocks a lever 245 pivoted on a rock shaft 246 carried by suitable brackets 241 mounted on the bar 220. As shown in Fig. 6, the rocking of the lever 245 causes a plunger 248, slidably mounted in the gear shaft 118, and having a pin and slot connection 248 with the lever 245, to be moved toward the front of the machine. Consequent upon such forward movement, the bevelled nose of the plunger 248 enters a conical opening 228 in the plunger 225, drawing the latter plunger out of engagement with the internal teeth v226 of the gear member 180, thereby permitting the spring bar- -rel mechanism 212 to advance the carriage until stopped by the engagement of the plunger 225 with the ratchet teeth 226, consequent upon the release of the lever 215 by the operator. I

To enable the embossing of ,several lines of characters, one above'the other, the plate holder 200 is mounted on the carriage for vertical move- As shown in Figs. 4 and 6, the plate holder 200 is secured to a vertically reciprocable mounting plate 260 carried by the carriage 201. The mounting plate 260 is secured to a vertically extending bar 261 by suitable screws 262 which pass through blocks 263, serving to space the plate from the bar. The bar 261 is slidably mounted for vertical movement in ways 265 formed in the carriage frame 202. Hence, when it is desired to move the plate P to cause the embossing to take place in different horizontal regions, the bar 261 is raised or lowered, as desired. The 'mechanism for raising the bar 261, and consequently the plate P, step by step, is best illustrated in Figs. 1, 4 and 6.

As there shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 14, a suitable operating lever 300 is pivotally connected as at 301 to the carriage and carries the member or knob 302, whereby it may be conveniently grasped by the operator. The lever 300 has an arm 304 arranged to engage a member 305, carried by a bell crank 306 pivoted as at 186 to the carriage.

The bell crank 306 serves to operate a ratchet feed mechanism, which serves to raise the mounting plate 260 upwardly step by step. As shown in Figs. 2 and 14, the bell crank 306 is connected by a link 301 to a plate 308 which is pivotally mounted on a shaft 308, 'ournalled in forwardly extending bracket portions 280 of the carriage frame 202. g I

Consequent upon the swinging of the knob 302 by theoperator, toward the right (Fig. 1)

, the carriage is moved toward the right, and a pawl 281, pivoted to the plate 308 at 282, en-

gages a ratchetwheel 283 and rotates the shaft 303. Rigidly mounted on the shaft 308, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, are a pair of spur gears 284, which mesh with respective racks 285 secured to opposite ends of the mounting plate 260. Hence, each time the operator moves the carriage by means of the knob 302, the plate P will be raised the distance required for spacing the lines of characters.

The mechanism above described is so arranged that the operation of the knob 302 spaces the plate vertically for either single or double spacing of the lines. As shown in Fig. 14, a pair of plates 286-and 281 are pivotally mounted on the shaft 309. The plate 286 carries an arcuate tongue 288, which is interposed between the pawl 281 and the ratchet. wheel 283, so that, depending upon the position of the tongue 288, the pawl may, consequent upon the swinging of the platev 308, advance the ratchet either one or two teeth at a time. The plate 286 is provided with a handle-like portion 289, by means of which the tongue 288,may be rocked about the shaft 309,

and thereby be adjustably positioned by the A suitable" boss 210 of the plate 286 operator. enters either of two openings 211 in the plate 281, which is restrained from rotation by a pin 212 carried by the carriage frame bracket 280,

thereby retaining the tongue 288 in its adjusted position.

A tabulating mechanism is provided by means of which the carriage may be moved horizontally under the impulse of the spring barrel 12 to certain preselected positions, so as to enable the tabulating of a series of figures or the like. The tabulating is accomplished bya cries of stops 215, 'which are removably posit ned in any one of a series of notches in a bar 216, which is rigidly secured to the carriage frame 202.

When the operator desires to tabulate, the

stop members 215 are positioned so as to stop the carriage at the desired point. The operator next depresses a key 266 (Figs. 1 and 2) which causes the carriage to be released so that the spring barrel 212 may move the carriage to the desired position, as indicated by the stop 215. As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the key 266 is secured to one end of a lever 261, which, through a compound lever 268, similar to the levers 231, 232, heretofore described, serves to draw downwardly a link 268. The link 263, through the medium of a link 250, draws downwardly a rod or pin 251 carried by a lever 252 rigidly secured to the shaft 246 heretofore mentioned in connection with the lateral shifting of the carriage. Pivotally connected at one end of the horizontal rod 251 is a vertical rod 254, the upper end ofwhich is pivoted, as at 255, to a lever 256 carried by a bracket 251 mounted on the bar 220.

The downward movement of the vertical rod 254, concomitant with the depression of the key 216 by the operator, rocks the lever 256 in a clockwise direction (Fig. 5'), causing an. abutment member 258 carried thereby to be positioned in the path of the stop member-215, heretofore mentioned. The rocking of the shaft 246, due to the depression of the tabulator key, as well as rocking the abutment lever 256, causes the withdrawal of the plunger 225 from. driving contact with the internal ratchet 226 of the escapement mechanism. As shown in Fig. 6', an arm 213 is rigidly secured to the shaft 246 and carries a pin 214 arranged to coact with the lever 245, heretofore mentioned. The movement of the arm ,therefore rocks the lever to cause the pin 248 to withdraw the plunger 225 from the internal ratchet 226, thereby permitting the spring barrels 212 to move the carriage until a stop 215 strikes the movable abutment 258, at which time the operator releases the stop key 216, thereby bringing the carriage quickly to the desired posi- 111011.

The carriage or mounting plate 260 is retained in its raised position. after the release of the member or knob 302 by a lever or pawl 310, (Fig. 15) pivoted as at 31 I to the carriage bracket 280 on the right-hand side of the machine. The pawl 310 has a projection 312 arranged to engage the teeth of a ratchet 313, which is rigidly secured to the shaft 308. When it is desired to lower the carriage, the operator merely grasps a forwardlyextending arm portion 315 of the pawi and raises the pawl, permittingzthe carriage tc drop under the influence of gravity. Due to this ratchet mechanism, it is'readily seen that the operator may, by grasping a handle 3| 6, which is rigidly secured to,'the plate holder 200 raise the plate at any time as much as desired. A suitable stud 3l8 carried in a rearwardly extending bracket 3l9 'of mounting plate 260 is arranged to engage a rubber cushion or block 3|! carried by the carriage frame member 202, thereby preventing damage to the parts, as well as limiting the downward movement of the plate holder.

The individual plates which are to be embossed are stored in a suitable magazine 320, which is mounted as a unit on the cross-bar I6, heretofore described, and a mechanism is provided to shove the plates, one at a time, from the magazine into position on the plate holder. The plate magazine and feeding mechanism is best illustrated inFigs. 1, 3, 4, and 17. As there shown, the magazine comprises a base 32i, secured to the cross bar i6, and provided with side and rear walls 322 and 323, respectively, and a movable front wall 324. A plurality of plates are placed in the magazine and are urged forwardly, toward the front wall 324 by a plate 325 carried by a plunger 326 slidably mounted in the rear wall 323 of the magazine and urged into contact with the plates by a spring 321.

Before the operator actuates the plate feeding mechanism, the carriage 211i is first moved to an extreme right-hand position (Figs. 1 and 4) and the plate holder thereon is raised to its uppermost position. This brings a pair of channels 330, formed in the plate holder 203, into alignment with the upper and lower edges of the foremost plate P in the magazine. The operator then grasps a knob 33l, which is carried by a lever 334 pivotally secured to the movable front wall 324 of the magazine, as at 335, and moves the front Wall of the magazine toward the left to the position shown in Fig. 17. A pin 332 carried by the wall member 324 limits the rocking of the lever 334.

The front wall 324 of the magazine is provided with a shoulder 336, which, as the magazine moves toward the left, engages the foremost plate P in the magazine, shoving it out of the magazine into the ways or channels 330 in the plate holder 200 and simultaneously the forward edge of this plate P shoves the plate which has been previously embossed out of such channels into a trough 331 from which the plate is readily removed by the operator.

The plate P, when in position on the plate holder 200, is normally restrained, against vertical movement by the channels 330, and against horizontal movement by a pair of bars 340 and 34l, which areslidably mounted for vertical movement on the plate holder .200 and are arranged to engage opposite ends of the plate P. As the front wall 324 of the magazine is'moved toward the left by the operator, a cam surface 342 engages one end 343 of a bell crank 344 pivoted as at 345 to the plate holder and rocks the bell crank in a counter-clockwise direction, cansing the bell crank to engage a pin 346 carried by a bar 340, thus raising that bar. Simultaneously, the bell crank 344 raises the bar 3. The

bell crank is connected by a link 341 to a second bell crank 348, which is pivoted as at 349 to the plate holder 200 and which has a pin and slot connection 35i with the bar 3. When the operator returns the front wall 324 of the magazine 320 to its normal position, shown in Fig. 4, springs 353 and 352 restore the stops 3 and 342 to their plate engaging positions.

The movement of the knob 33 3 towards the right (Fig. 3) to restore the plate feed to its normal position, causes the rocking of the bell crank 334 in a clockwise direction, whereupon a pin 354 carried by one end of the arm 350 of the bell crank engages the bifurcated end 356 of the rock arm 35 1 pivoted as at 358 to a block 359, which is carried by the magazine base 32l and forms a guide for the moving front wall of the magazine. The rocking of the bell crank 334, therefore, rocks the lever 362 so that it engages a downwardly extending lug or arm 350 of the pawl 3l5 which serves to maintain the carriage in the uppermost position, as heretofore described. The raising of the arm 3H1 disengages the pawl from the ratchet M3 and permits the carriage to drop to its embossing position under the influence of gravity.

The plate, while being embossed, lies between the dies and therefore, to a great extent, is hidden from the view of the operator. I therefore provide means whereby the operator, at a glance may tell what portion of' the plate is being embossed, that is, the position of the character in the line and the line being embossed. As shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 6, secured to the plate holder adjacent its upper end, is a frame 390,

adapted to removably position a chart 39L The chart is provided with a series of vertical and transverse lines. The vertical lines indicate the character spacing of the carriage, whereas the horizontal lines indicate the line spacing of the carriage. A suitable pointer 392 carried by a rod or bar 393 which is secured to the frame member l5l, coacts with the chart and indicates to the operator the exact position of the selected embossing die, relative to the plate which is being embossed. The chart 3!" is so positioned that it is at all times visible to the operator. When the width of the character spacing is altered by bringing different gears I80 into active relationsh p with the carriage rack I8l, as heretofore described, the chart 39I is removed from its holder and a 'new chart substituted therefor, bearing spaces corresponding to the distances the carriage is fed by the newly selected gear I 80.

While I have described the plate holding and feeding mechanism as adapted for substitution for the ribbon feeding mechanism of existing embossing machines, made according to my prior inventions, it is to be understood that such substitution does not imply that the mechanism need be of the exact form illustrated in the drawings. For instance without disturbing the feeding mechanism of the present invention the plate holder 200 may be replaced by a plate holder having channels arranged to receive plates of different size or shape from those shown. Moreover, by

merely deepening the die head, so that its vertical groove could accommodate a greater extent of plate holder, the latter could readily be adapted to carry an embossable plate nearly the sizeof the plate holder, so that one would thus be enabled to emboss a page form if desired.

While I have described in detail the die carrying and power actuating mechanism therefor of. my prior patents and application, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to those particular details or indeed to a power.

' between the dies of a selected pair, means to cause a selected pair of dies to coact to emboss a plate, means to move the'plate holder in one dif rection for letter spacing, means to move the plate holder in another direction for line spacing, a chart carried by said plate holder and visible. to the operator, and means coacting with said chart to indicate the position of the selected dies relative to the plate embossed.

2. In an embossing machine, a die holder, a plurality of pairs of coacting dies carried by the die holder, a carriage adapted to support and position a plate to be embossed between the dies, embossing 'mechanism to cause a selected pair of dies to emboss the plate, means dependent upon the embossing mechanism to advance a carriage a step at a time, a tabulator mechanism under control of the operator to advance the carriage a plurality of steps to a predetermined point, and means whereby said tabulator'may be operated to advance the carriage, independent of the operation of the embossing mechanism.

3. In an embossing machine, a frame, a pair of die holders, pairs of coacting dies mounted in said die holder, a pair of cross-bars rigidly mounted on said frame and extending between said rows of dies and each having anaperture through which a. die of a selected pair extends to emboss a plate, said die holders being movable with respect to said apertures, and a plate holder mounted for movement parallel with and between said bars, whereby the inner faces of said bars may act to limit the movement of the plate holder in a direction parallel with the movement of said dies.

4. An embossing machine, comprising in combination a longitudinally movable carriage, a vertically disposed plate holder having a pair of parallel ledges behind which a plate may be moved in its own plane to engage its opposite margins, a plurality of pairs of cooperating dies disposed on such carriage'and arranged on opposite sides of said plate holder, actuators disposed for cooperation with a selected pair of dies,

means for moving the carriage longitudinally to bring the selected pair of dies into registration with said actuators, means for moving such actuators transversely into cooperation with said selected pair of dies, and a unitary member to initiate the movement of both of said means.

5. In an embossing machine, a frame, apair of die holders, coacting dies mounted in said die holders, -a pairof bars rigidly mounted on said frame and extending between said rows of dies and each having an aperture through which a die of a selected pair extends to emboss a plate, said die holders being movable with respect to the apertures, and a plate holder mounted between said bars for movement in' each of two directions normal to each other, whereby the inner faces of said bars may act to limit the movement of the plate holder in a direction parallel with the movement of said dies regardless of the position to which the plate holder is-moved,

6. In an embossing machine,- a frame,- a pair of die holders, coacting dies mounted in said die holders, a pair of bars rigidly mounted on said frame and extending between said rows of dies and each having an aperture therethrough slightlylarger than the area of one die and through which a selected die may extend to emboss a printing plate, a plate holder mounted between said bars for movement in directions parallel therewith, said plate holder having an opening intermediate its ends substantially as large as the 7. In an embossing machine, a frame, a die holder movable thereon, a plurality of pairs of coacting embossing dies mounted in the die holder, a pair of spaced bars rigidly secured to the frame and extending between said dies, and

each bar having an aperture through which one of the dies may extend to emboss a plate, a plate holder movable with respect to the apertures in said bars, and having an aperture intermediate its ends substantially larger than the aperture in said bars, means carried by said plate holder and adapted to overhang the edges of a printing plate and retain such plate in position on the plate holder over the aperture therein and against movement in the direction of the embossing movement of said dies, and wherein said bars act to restrain the plate holder from movement in a direction parallel with the embossing movement of said dies.

8. In an embossing machine, a die holder, a plurality of pairs of coacting dies carried by said die holder, a plate holder arranged to extend between the dies of a selected pair, means to cause a selected pair of dies to coact to emboss a plate, means to move the plate holder in one direction forletter spacing, means to move theplate holder in another direction for line spacing, a chart member having designations disposed laterally and vertically, a member coacting with the chart member to indicate the position of the selected dies and the location of the line in which they are to emboss, and means operatively connecting one of said members with the plate holder.

9. In an embossing machine, a frame, a die I holder, a plurality of pairs of coacting dies carried by said die holder, a plate holder arranged to extend between the dies of a selected pair of dies, means to move the plate holder in one direction for letter spacing, and in another direction for line spacing, a chart movable with said plateholder and visible to the operator, and a pointer secured to said frame and coacting with said chart to indicate the position of the selected dies relative to the plate to be embossed.

10. In an embossing machine, a die holder, a plurality of pairs of coacting dies carried by the die holder, a carriage adapted to support and position a plate between said dies to be embossed, embossing mechanism to cause a selected pair of dies to emboss the plate, means dependent upon the embossing mechanism to advance the carriage a step at a time, a tabulator mechanism under the control of the operator to advance the carriage a plurality of steps to a predetermined 

